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The Best of the Creative Economy: J Allard on the Internet

Nick | 30 Jan 2009, 16:02

In our latest instalment of the Best of the Creative Economy in 2008, J Allard has nominated the internet itself as the most creative innovation of the past year.

Since the emergence of the internet it has continued to evolve at a rapid rate and with the growth of new technologies such as the semantic web, it shows no sign of slowing down.  The internet has been harnessed by the creative industries in a million ways, to launch new artists, products, ideas, designs, business models and ways of working .

The internet has also led to a massive increase in the consumption of creative products, with social networks, self-publishing, downloads and e-commerce all driving the expansion of audience and reach.

“The Internet is the nexus of a creative renaissance that promises to influence all forms of artistic expression. It is fundamentally transforming how creativity is articulated, distributed, revered, connected and even commodified. Its evolutionary velocity, perpetual presence and near-infinite elasticity are combining to make it the artist’s best friend.

“For the creative professional, the Internet can play a lot of roles:  Your medium.  Your canvas.  Your gallery.  Your stage.  Your screening room.  Your audience.  Your inspiration.  Your fanclub.  Your publisher.  Your fact-checker.  Your agent.  Your business manager.  Your street team.

“Your muse.  In the time it has taken you to read this, the Internet has grown more proficient at doing all of these things. And we’re still a long way from reaching terminal velocity. As it continues to evolve its capacity to provide broader and deeper support for creative expression, the Internet will become a vital, indispensible ally for every artist who undertakes that personal journey of becoming.”

Digital Britain: The UK’s strategy for the digital economy

Nick | 29 Jan 2009, 12:00

The British Government has today published a plan to secure the country’s place at the forefront of the global digital economy. The interim report produced by the DCMS and BERR contains more than 20 recommendations, including specific proposals on:

- next generation networks
- universal access to broadband
- the creation of a second public service provider of scale
- the modernisation of wireless radio spectrum holdings
- a digital future for radio
- a new deal for digital content rights
- enhancing the digital delivery of public services

The Digital Britain Report underlines the crucial contribution of the communications sector and related creative industies to the wider economy and their role in building Britain’s industrial future.

Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson said:

“This report sets out a strategy for building a knowledge economy where our most valuable assets are the skills and innovation that underpin our digital industries. This is absolutely vital if Britain is to benefit fully from some of the greatest economic opportunities on offer this century.“

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, who outlined some of the key challenges and opportunities that the digital age represents for the creative economy here, said:

“Britain has always led the world in content creation - with the best music, films and TV - and it is vital that we carry forward this strength into the digital age. This is a significant Report for the creative industries, taking steps to establish workable systems of copyright in an online age and to preserve choice of public service content. But it is only the beginning of the process and we need to work hard in the coming months to secure workable solutions.“

The 22-point action plan outlines a programme of work with commitments to:

 upgrade and modernise wired, wireless and broadcast infrastructure;
 secure a dynamic investment climate for UK digital content and services;
 provide a range of high quality UK made public service content;
 ensure fairness and access, with universal availability and promotion of skills and media literacy; and
 develop the infrastructure, skills and take-up to enable widespread online delivery of public services.

In addition to specific commitments, the Interim Report outlines Britain’s progress in building a digital market-place, while also setting priorities for industry engagement ahead of the publication of the final Digital Britain Report, due before the summer.

Stephen Carter the Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting said:

“The innovation, creativity and vitality of our communications industries rightly demand clarity from Government on its role and a framework for the future. Delivering Digital Britain will depend upon a smart industry, working with a committed Government to produce lasting solutions.”

The interim Digital Britain report is available here and further details can be found here.

Designing people-centred policy: how can user centred design help public services?

Nick | 27 Jan 2009, 16:19

C&binet comment: Nick Marsh, Designer, Engine Service Design

Today’s public servants face complex and often contradictory challenges.

Service user’s expectations, conditioned in part by the rapid improvements in service experience in the private sector (particularly online) are rising. Meanwhile, after a period of inflation busting spending on public services, the word in Whitehall is budget freezes and maybe even cuts. On top of this, the outcomes demanded by citizens and communities are more and more complex, systemic and personal and the demographic trends point to this complexity increasing as our society ages.

These challenges are as varied as they are difficult. How do we enable patients with chronic conditions to take care of themselves better? How do we include partners from other sectors such as charities or even families in our service delivery systems? How do we encourage personal responsibility for service outcomes? What policy frameworks will best support innovative practices? How do we do more with less?

As we head towards the second decade of the 21st century the challenges are significant and pressing. Our traditional local authority and national public service frameworks, focused on centrally organised delivery and designed over 60 years ago for a different set of societal problems, were not built for these problems. We need new approaches for understanding people and their needs and then translating these findings into operational services and supporting policies. But how to find out what people need?

One, perhaps unexpected, place to look for inspiration in finding the tools to start addressing these problems is to examine at how the design and development of consumer technology products has evolved over the past 20 years or so.

Over the past few decades information technology software and hardware has moved away from the centrally located, institutionally controlled, main frame and into millions of homes (and now pockets) of an increasingly large and diverse number of users, with a correspondingly large and diverse range of needs. Sound familiar?

Faced with this bewildering proliferation of devices, services and users, product managers, business executives and software and hardware engineers are increasingly turning to design research techniques to bring them insights into how people are actually using these products, and what underlying needs and behaviours are driving these uses.

These design research methods fuse research practices borrowed from anthropology (principally an ethnographic practice that emphasises time spent in the field), with ergonomics and usability (understanding how people use stuff) and participatory design techniques (workshops and creative tools that enable participants to ‘own the exchange’ and contribute their ideas freely). Jan Chipchase of Nokia Design is perhaps the best-known advocate of this type of work.

Companies such as Engine Service Design are now borrowing elements of this practice, (along with a range of other design-led tools and techniques) and applying it to the public service challenges discussed earlier. Some examples include our work with Kent County Council to design a Social Innovation Lab, a project with Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire to develop transport services for patients, and an initiative with a SureStart centre to develop a service to engage Dads.

Of course, there are huge differences between designing better technology products and better public services, but there are some underlying principles that are remarkably simple and surprisingly disruptive when applied to the challenge of public service design:

Understanding of the user experience comes from ‘deep’ design research techniques. Genuine moments of insight come from an in depth understanding of the unique challenges faced by individuals, which is gained from time spent with people. The currency of ‘experience’ deals with emotions and moments in time that cannot be captured in statistics and trends analysis, and research outputs such as journey maps and ‘day in the life’ stories need to be carefully designed to capture these experiences for use by policy makers and service managers.

The user experience must be the primary source of insight, and the central organising principle of a programme of change. In the case of technology products the ‘user experience’ normally means the points of interface between people and products, in the case of services the user experience normally means the journey a user takes between interface points, as well as the actual touch points they interact with. Understanding and visualising these journeys (actual and ideal), and tying them to the emotional understanding gained from deep research creates a shared, empathetic platform for service re-design.

Users must be involved in (co)designing the solution. A user just telling a researcher about their concerns and worries gets us nowhere (well, it gets us a research report). Design research methods don’t separate research from action – they are one and the same thing, focussed on creating a better experience. This means that users must be directly involved in co-designing the solutions to their problems (and then maybe later maintaining the resulting service design), alongside expert designers who can bring their ideas to life through prototypes.

Designers must be involved to create prototypes. Participatory, user centred design research techniques give us the framework to understand and diagnose the real issues and problems behind users’ experiences of public services. However, in order to act on that framework, to imagine a better situation or system, you need designers who can make things real through developing and iterating prototypes of the solution. We’ve found that this is especially valuable when dealing with intangible design artefacts such as services and experiences. Prototypes bought to life through drawings, mock-ups and models create tangible evidence of progress and change and allow stakeholders to evaluate and improve on options through a hands-on process of iteration.

The research must be tied to a wider product/service development programme. The design research techniques employed by the consumer electronics businesses mentioned earlier are of course tied-in to their wider new product and service development processes. This must also be true of any public service redesign. Outputs from deep user research, co-design sessions with users and the refined service prototypes must be delivered into the parts of an organisation that knows what to do with them. Recommendations for system level changes need to go to policy heads, innovative ideas for new delivery mechanisms must go to the right service managers, and the change must be joined up often through shared communications.

Designing public services around the user experience of service runs counter to many of the output focused, target driven organising principles of current public service models, but its vital if we’re to transform 20th century public services into a shape that can address the 21st century’s social challenges. User-centred design research techniques will play a valuable role in getting us there, and I’m very excited to be taking part in the journey.

Further reading:

Nick Marsh’s blog - www.choosenick.com

David Varney’s Review of Service Transformation - http://www.dc10plus.net/resources/Report422

RED Transformation Design Report- http://www.designcouncil.info/mt/RED/transformation/TransformationDesignFinalDraft.pdf

Engine’s Public Service Design Practice - http://www.enginegroup.co.uk/service_design/public_service_design/

Design Council’s Public Services by Design Programme - http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/Design-Council/1/What-we-do/Our-activities/Public-services-by-design/

The best of the Creative Economy: Jocelyn Stevenson on Grandpa In My Pocket

Nick | 27 Jan 2009, 14:40

C&binet ambassador Jocelyn Stevenson  has nominated Grandpa In My Pocket, created by Mellie Buse and Jan Page, as the most creative innovation of the past year, in the latest installment of the best of the creative economy in 2008.

Grandpa In My Pocket is a new series for Cbeebies, launching this year, which explores the relationship between grandchildren and grandparents by turning it on its head. Stevenson pointed to the high quality of writing, production, design and creativity resulting in a uniquely innovative piece of children’s TV.

“The creators, who are an independent company and not part of the BBC, also wrote and produced the series.  They were involved in all aspects of the production, including putting together the financing, and were able to make the modest budget go a long way,  thanks to their creativity, vision and sheer bloody-mindedness.”

Edelman Trust Barometer 2009: trust in media brands declines

Nick | 27 Jan 2009, 14:34

As the world’s business and political leaders, campaigners and members of the media descend on Davos, the Financial Times reported today that trust in business is at its lowest level for ten years, with trust at a record low for media brands.

This is the conclusion of the 10th edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of almost 4,500 “opinion leaders” across 20 countries that aims to measure the credibility of groups ranging from non-governmental organisations to stock market analysts.

Amongst “informed publics” of well educated, highly-paid and engaged 25-64 year, almost two-thirds - 62 per cent - said they trusted companies less this year than last. In the US and Japan, two of the world’s most important economies, more than 75 per cent had lost faith in business in the past 12 months. In the US, just 38 per cent now say they trust business - down 20 percentage points on the 2008 result to its lowest level since the poll began.

After a year that has seen the near collapse of the international financial system and the slide into a global economic recession, these findings may come as little surprise. But according to the report’s authors, what makes this year so different is that these factors have impacted trust across the board: “In previous years, when one category went up, another went down. Here, everybody’s down.“

Speaking at the launch of the study, FT Lex column writer, John Paul Rathbone described the findings as particularly challenging for media companies, with many struggling to adapt their business models and now suffering a collapse in trust. 

However, the research also indicated that “brand reputation” has never been more important for business - a trend which represents an opportunity for creative businesses working with big brands. This is an opportunity which extends beyond fields such as advertising and marketing to film, television and music which all have a role to play in influencing brand trust: “Traditionally, companies polished their reputation by talking to regulators, investors and the mainstream media. Today, there’s a need to talk to employees, NGOs and the most activist consumers. There’s a new set of influencers,“ according to Richard Edelman, president and CEO, Edelman.

Edelman works on behalf of the C&binet project.

Nestle and L’Oreal: this time it’s personal

Nick | 26 Jan 2009, 19:52

Mounting speculation that Swiss food giant Nestle will buy French cosmetics giant L’Oreal seems to confirm the logic that the FMCG sector will be increasingly dominated by “personal care” products.

P&G long-ago rebalanced their business to focus on the personal care business, an area where commoditisation is less of a threat and where its ability to innovate rapidly is in greatest demand. Meanwhile food brands such as Flora and Actimel increasingly trade on their “health and wellness” benefits and homecare brands like Lenor position themselves as part of a personal pampering routine. As food and beauty move closer together, it’s clear that the future of FMCG marketing is personal and for the creative industries, which exist to provoke a personal response, this is a huge opportunity to work more closely with big brands.